Brief Synopsis – A widower and a widow become friends and try to pursue a relationship, but the needs and wants of their kids keep getting in the way.

My Take on it – This is a film that didn’t know anything about until a fellow movie blogger Kellee Pratt recommended it to me last week when we were discussing Doris Day films.

Tnx Kellee!!

Coming from a blended family (as a kid) and having my own blended family now as a parent, I was quite excited to see what this film was all about.

Doris Day and Brian Keith are both great here and they have such fun chemistry throughout the film.

They manage to give us a clear picture of the various kinds of complexities and difficulties that family members can have when trying to blend together two families into one.

Like The Brady Bunch TV show and the film Yours, Mine and Ours (1968), this film does a great job showing the realistic aspects of such kinds of situations in a blended family environment.

This film doesn’t try to shy away from some of the more mature aspects of the premise and they find a way to present it all in a very wholesome and realistic way throughout.

The various issues that they discuss here range from where to live, how to try and accommodate all family members without any of them feeling alienated, ways of forming a bond between the new parent and the other one’s kid(s) and even trying to find time to give attention to each child according to their needs are done in a very enjoyable and genuine way.

The ending of the film is a bit strange since it turns everything into a complete farce even though I’m not quite sure why they felt that this kind of film needed such a crazy ending.

Bottom Line – Day and Keith are great in this film and we can really get a clear understanding of the various difficulties and complexities involved in creating and adjusting to a blended family environment. They don’t shy away from dealing with more adult issues here and they present things in a very realistic way from start to finish. The issues that keep coming up regarding where to live, how to accommodate everyone and even try to find time for everyone is shown really well and stays enjoyable throughout. The ending is a bit too convoluted and it seems as if they were trying too hard to try and give us a farce which wasn’t really necessary. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – It was widely assumed that Doris Day’s husband and manager Martin Melcher negotiated their multi-million-dollar deal with CBS for her to do both this film and her long-running sitcom The Doris Day Show because her box office appeal was “fading.” In truth, this film, her final big screen appearance, was a big hit, and ranks among the 10 top-grossing movies of her 20 year career. (From IMDB)